Door hinge unit

ABSTRACT

A DOOR HINGE UNIT IS PROVIDED WITH A FIXED LEAF AND A MOVABLE LEAF JOINED BY A HINGE PIN FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER. A TORSION BAR HAVING A MAIN STRAIGHT PART AND OPPOSED U-SHAPED BENDS AT EACH END IS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF THE LEAVES ALONG THE MAIN PART OF THE BAR. ONE U-SHAPED BEND IS ANCHORED IN THE SAME LEAF AND A CHECK ARM HAVING TWO SEPARATE OPENINGS IS MOUNTED ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE BAR AND THE MAIN PART THEREOF. THE CHECK ARM IS PROVIDED WITH CAM PORTIONS WHICH SELECTIVELY ENGAGE A ROLLER DETENT ON THE OTHER LEAF TO HOLD THE DOOR IN A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS.

United States Patent Nakano et al.

DOOR HINGE UNIT Inventors: Ryuzo Nakano, Oaza; Shinichiro Yamazaki,Toyota; Shinzi Ogasawara, Hekinan, all of Japan Aisin Seiki KabushikiKaisha, Kariya City, Aichi Pref, Japan Filed: Aug. 21, 1973 Appl. No.:390,274

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 21, 1972 Japan 47-97841 U.S. Cl.16/145, 16/180 Int. Cl E05d 11/10 Field of Search 16/145, 142, 180, 85,82,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ll/l962 Faber l6/l42 2/l968Marchione 16/180 [111 3,820,192 5] June 28, 1974 3,371,374 3/l968Marchione....- l6/l80 3,434,179 3/l969 Marchione l6/l45 PrimaryExaminer-Bobby R. Gay

Assistant ExaminerDoris L. Troutman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue,Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak ABSTRACT A door hinge unit is providedwith a fixed leaf and a movable leaf joined by a hinge pin for pivotalmovement relative to each other. A torsion bar having a main straightpart and opposed U-shaped bends at each end is rotatably mounted on oneof the leaves along the main part of the bar. One U-shaped bend isanchored in the same leaf and a check arm having two separate openingsis mounted on the opposite end of the bar and the main part thereof. Thecheck arm is provided with cam portions which selectively engage aroller detent on the other leaf to hold the door in a plurality ofpositions.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures mmmmz m4 am, 1 92 FIG. 3

noon HINGE UNIT- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to improvements in and relating to door hingeunits, especially adapted for use on automotive vehicles.

2. Description of the Prior Art Door hinge units for automotive vehicleshave been manufactured rather preferably from steel sheets in place ofcast iron material in consideration of weightand cost reduction. v

A still further tendency in this field of the art is such that the doorside leaf and the pillar side leaf of the door hinge unit aremanufactured into respective separate pieces for separate attachment tothe door and the related chassis pillar, so as to realize an easy andeconomical assembly job.

The thus separately attached leaves are assembled together by means of ahinge pin at a rather later and nearly final stage of the automotiveassemblying line. Therefore, it is desirable to leave an idle spaceabove the head of hinge pin for drive it into position by a ham- 'met orthe like tool. It is a further demand in practice to design the doorhinge unit such that door check mechanism 'can be pre-assembled toeither the door side leaf or pillar side leaf on account of ratherlimited available space within the hinge unit upon execution of thedrive fit of hinge pin. Or alternatively, it is highly desirable not toattach the door check means to the door hinge unit per se.

In the generally employed type of the door hinge unit made of steel andcomprising the above mentioned separate type leaves, the check mechanismincludes a check arm which is pivotably mounted at its one end on suchend portion of the door side leaf positioned at the opposite sidethereof to a hinge pin center, a check roller being provided which isrotatably supported on the side portion of pillar side leaf and adaptedfor rolling on the wavy upper surface of said check arm which is pushedup at its opposite end by means of a coil spring. In this prior type ofdoor hinge, unit, the coil spring is mounted on the head part of hingepin on account of limited space in the unit for properly positioning ofsuch coil spring. Therefore, this spring must be attached in positionupon coupling of the both leaves by means of hinge pin which results ina substantial increase of labor and cost in the assembly job.

Further, in the case of the torsion bar type door hinge unit having asits door check means a torsion bar shaped substantially into anelongated C and wherein its one of bent-back ends is fixedly attached tothe pillar side leaf and its another bent-back end is kept in pressureengagement with the said check roller, the torsion bar is subjected toan appreciable torsion and severe bending stresses which give rise tofrequent issuance of unpleasant creak noises during closing and openingoperation of the door, especially at the fixed portion of the bar.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION A main object of the invention is to provide anim- A still further object of the invention is to provide an improveddoor hinge unit which is capable of being assembled in an easy andeconomical way.

A still further object is to provide an improved door hinge unitsubstantially devoid of generation of unpleasant creak noises asconventionally and liably encountered during opening and closingoperation of the door.

These and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willbecome more apparent when read the following detailed description of theinvention by reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a front view of a preferredembodiment of the invention which is shown in its complete doorclosureposition.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the same embodiment when seen from theright-hand side in FIG. 1.

- FIG. 4 is a right-hand side view of the same embodiment which is,however, shown in its semi-door-opened state.

FIG. 5 is a similar view to FIG. 4 wherein the door hinge unit has beenkept at its totally door-opened state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings,FIGS. 1 5, numeral 1 represents a pillar side leaf made of steel sheetthrough press job and comprises an attaching portion la formed withupwardly extending curved side portions lb which are formed in turn withhinge center openings 1c at an upper part thereof and with roller centeropenings 1d at a lower part thereof.

A stop pin 9 is inserted through said roller center openings 1d andfixed in position by means of its serrated portion 9a relative to theleaf 1. The pin 9 is formed at its one end a reduced diameter portion 9bwhich engages relatively rotatably with a check roller 10 at 10a. AnE-ring 11 is attached to a ring groove 90 formed on said reduceddiameter portion 9b for prevention of slipping out of the check roller10 from the stop pin 9.

Flanged bushings 4 and 5 made of hard plastics or sintered alloy arecoaxially and forcibly are forcedly driven into the hinge centeropenings 10 with their flanges 4b and 5b directing outwardly.

Numeral 2 represents a door side leaf made of steel sheet throughpressing job comprises an attaching portion 2a which is bent up at itsboth ends with parallel side wall portions 2b and 2c. The insideseparating distance between these side wall portions 2b and 20 has beenselected to be slightly larger than the mutual outside distance betweenside wall portions lb of pillar side leaf 1 added with thickness of theflanges 4b and 5b of bushings 4 and 5, respectively. These side wallportions 2b and 2c are formed coaxially with hinge center openings 2d,having respective inside diameters precisely equal to the axial bores 4aand 5a of said bushings 4 and 5 driven into through hinge centeropenings 1c of pillar side leaf 1, respectively.

The side wall 20 is formed at its upper part with a projecting extension2e which acts a stop for limiting the opening degree of the door, aswill be more fully described hereinafter. At a lower level than the saidprojecting extension 2e when seen in FIG. 3, the side wall 2c is formedwith an inclined edge portion 2g. On the side wall 2b,'a projection 2fis formed which acts as a door-closing stop, as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter.

The distances of the door-closing stop 2f and the door-opening stop 2emeasured from the center of hinge center opening 2d is longer than thedistance measured from the center of hinge center opening 1c to that ofroller center opening 1d minus the radius of the outer periphery ofcheck roller center 10. The distance of the intermediate portion 2gmeasured from the center of hinge center opening 2d is shorter than thedistance extending from the center of hinge center opening of pillarside leaf 1 to that of roller center opening 1d minus the radius of theouter periphery of check roller 10.

The small wall portion 2b is formed with a recess 2i opening leftwardsand downwards in FIG. 3, the bottom of said recess 2i being formed tohave a semicircular configuration as shown therein.

The second or other side wall portion 2b of door side leaf 2 is formed,as shown in FIG. 3 at the upper part of the side wall, with adoor-opening stop projection 2j which has the same outline configurationwith that of the projecting extension 2e. In addition, it is furtherformed at its lower portion with a door-closing stop projection 2m. Theintermediate edge portion 2e extends between these stop projections 2jand 2m.

The distances measured from the stop projections 2j and 2m to the centerof hinge center opening 2d of door-side leaf 2 are longer than thedistance measured from hinge center opening 10 of pillar side leaf 1 tothat ,of roller center opening 1d minus the radius of stop pin 9. On theother hand, the distance from the intermediate portion 2e to the centerof hinge center opening 2d of door side leaf 2 is smaller than thatmeasured from the center of hinge center opening lc of pillar side leaf1 to that of roller center opening 1d, minus the radius of stop pin 9.

At a closely lower level from the door closing stop 2m when seen in FIG.3 a leftwardly and downwardly opening recess 2n is formed on side wallportion 2b, having equally a semi-circular bottom configuration. Thisrecess 2n has same arrangement and dimensions as those of the foregoingrecess 2i.

Torsion bar 7 has inwardly bent-back ends 7b and 7c which are arrangedparallel to its main straight portion 7a. The bent-back end portion 7bis formed at about its center of the whole length and on its sidesurface with a notch or groove 7e. The connecting part 7d between thebent-back straight end portion 70 and the main straight portion 7a isformed into a substantially semicircular curve.

Check arm 8 is formed, as shown in FIG. 3, at its one end with acircular opening 8a and at its opposite end with a slot opening 8b. Thedistance between the centers of said opening 8a and slot 8b is selectedto be equal to that between the mid-point of main straight portion 7a oftorsion bar 7 and the mid-point of bentback end portion 7c. The diameterof circular opening 80 is selected to allow the semi-circularly curvedportion 7d to pass therethrough. The width of slot 8b is selected to beslightly larger than the outside diameter of torsion bar 7. Check arm 8are formed at its lower part when seen in FIG. 4 with peaks 8d and 8eand valleys 8c and 8e arranged in an alternating way. In close proximityto peak 8f, it is formed with an inclined portion 8g.

In order to assemble check arm 8 and torsion bar 7 together, circularopening 80 of check arm 8 is brought intoengagement with the bent-backend portion of torsion bar 7 and the former is slidingly advancedthrough the curved connecting part 7d onto the main straight portion 7a,thus the both members being engaged with each other relativelyrotatably. Then, check arm Sis properly rotated and the slot 8b is slidonto the bent-back straight end 70 of torsion bar 7. At this stage,check arm 8 will be prevented from a'rightward move ment upon engagementwith the inner extremities of the curved connecting portion 7d when seenin FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, the inclination of an imaginary straightline connecting the centers of the crosssections of the bent-back endportions 7b and 7c of torsion bar 7 relative to the related constituentparts of the door hinge unit may well be supposed from FIG. 3. Inadvance of the complete assembly of the aforementioned both parts, thebent-back end portion 70 of torsion bar 7 is inclined further downwardsin comparison with its position shown in FIG. 3. At this stage, theperson who is making the assembly job positions the torsion bar 7 at itsright side relative position as possible in the semi-assembly and inFIG. 3, by placing the main straight portion 7a of torsion bar 7 intoengagement with the recesses 2a and Zn and the bent-back portion 7b intoengagement the recess or groove 2k formed on the upper part of theintermediate portion 2e of side wall 2b, while the tip end of bent-backportion 7c of torsion bar 7 is kept in physical separation with theouter surface of side wall 20 of door side leaf 2. Next, while thebent-back end portion 7c is being twisted clockwise in FIG. 3, torsionbar 7 is moved leftwards in FIG. 1 and the tip end extremity of thebent-back 7c is inserted into a slot 2p formed through side wall 2c ofdoor side leaf 2. At this stage, the recess or notch 72 on the bent-back7b is brought into engagement with recess or notch 2k on the side wall2b, while it is being kept incontact with the outer surface of smallwall portion 2h of door side leaf 2. In this way, torsion bar 7 andcheck arm 8 are positively prevented from movement in the horizontaldirection when seen in FIG. 1.

Hinge pin 3 has its outer diameter slightly smaller than the bores at 4aand 5a of flanged bushings 4 and 5 forcibly driven into hinge centeropenings 1c, and than those at hinge center openings 2d of door sideleaf 2. At the one end of hinge pin 3, it is formed with an enlargedhead 3a, said serrated portion 312 being arranged at a close proximityof said head 3a. The length of this portion 3b is selected to beslightly smaller than the thickness of side wall portion 2c of door sideleaf 2 and the outside diameter at 3b is slightly larger than the boreat 2d. A shallow ring groove 30 is formed in close proximity to the tipend of hinge pin 3 for reception of a spring clip 6 which serves forotherwise possible disengagement of the hinge pin. The main part ofhinge pin 3 is passed through several openings 10 and 2d and pressure orblow is applied axially on the head 30, so as to drive the serratedportion 3b into the righthand one 2d of hinge center openings of doorside leaf 2. Therefore, hinge pin 3 is fixedly positioned at this leaf2, while it is freely rotatable relative to the door side leaf l.

At this stage, check roller may take its any position shown in any one'of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. In FIG. 3, check roller 10 is in engagement withvalley 80 on check arm 8. In FIG. 4, it is engagement with valley 8e oncheck arm 8. In FIG. 5, it is in engagement with sloped edge 8g of thecheck arm. With any position taken by the check roller 10, hinge centeropenings 1c, 1c, 2d and 2d are kept in registration with one afteranother in line by slightly torsioned clockwise in FIGS. 3 5 of thetorsion bar .7, so as to drive the hinge pin 3 forcibly into position.

The operation of the door hinge unit so far shown and described is asfollows:

In FIG. 3, the check arm 8 mounted rotatably on the main straight part7a of torsion bar 7 on door side leaf 2 is' kept in pressure contactwith check roller 10 connected rotatably with pillar side leaf 1 bymeans of stop pin 9 at close proximity of valley 80 on check am 8towards the peak 8d, said check arm being subjected to counter clockwiseturning moment around the main portion 7a thereof and thus the door sideleaf 2 is subjected to clockwise turning moment around hinge pin 3. Atthe same time and in this condition, when the door, not shown, isclosing together with said leaf 2, naturally fixed thereto although thefixing means have been omitted on account of its very popularity, thefirst stop portion 2f will be brought into collision against the checkroller 10, and second stop portion 2m will brought into pressure contactwith stop pin 9. Thus, rotation of door side leaf2 is positivelyprevented so that a completely closed condition of the door as well asthe leaf 2 is brought about with high safety.

When the door side leaf is rotated counter clockwise from its positionshown in FIG. 3, the contact point between check arm 8 and check rollerI0 will shift with increasing the torsional moment accumulated in thetorsion bar 7. When this contact point comes to the peak 8d on check arm8, the turning moment at the leaf 2 will become maximum and when itpasses over this contact point, the leaf 2 will automatically rotatecounter clockwise and when other valley 8e on check arm 8 will come upto said check roller 10, as shown in FIG. 4, the turning moment willbecome minimum, thereby a half opening condition of the door beingrealized with high safety.

When the leaf 2 is further rotated counter clockwise and other peak 8fon check arm 8 to contact with check roller 10, the turning moment ofleaf 2 will become maximum and check roller 10 will roll along theinclined surface 8g on check arm 8, thus the leaf 2 being rotatedautomatically in counter clockwise direc- When the door together withits leaf 2 is rotated clockwise from its fully opened position shown inFIG. 5, the contact point between check arm 8 and check roller 10 willcome to the peak 8f on check arm 8. At this stage, the door side leaf 2has a maximum turning moment. After this time point, the leaf 2 will berotated automatically. When the contact point between check arm 8 andcheck roller I0 comes to valley 8e on check arm 8, the turning momentwill become minimum, thus a half opened door condition being held withsafety.

When the door side leaf is turned further clockwise, the contact pointbetween check arm 8 and check roller 10 will come to peak 80 on checkarm 8. At this time, the turning moment will become maximum and then,the door will turn automatically. When the first door-closing stop 2f onthe leaf 2 is brought into collision against check roller 10 and secondstop portion 2m on the leaf 2 collides against hinge pin 9. Then, thedoor is held at its fully closed position with safety.

In the door opening and closing operations as was referred tohereinbefore, although the torsion bar 7 receives always force at 7dfrom check arm 8, it does not shift in the horizontal direction in FIG.I, because main portion 7a and bent-back 7c of torsion bar 7 are kept inengagement with circular opening 8a and slot 8b and therefore, a kind ofloop is formed among check arm 8 and tip end and side surface 7d oftorsion bar 7. And, as shown in FIG. 1, while the left-hand side ofcheck arm 8 is kept in intimate contact with the righthand side of smallwall portion 2h of the leaf 2, the recess or notch 7e on torsion bar 7is kept in engagement with the recess or notch 2k on the leaf 2.Although the force as acting at 7c; 7d of torsional moment to act uponthe main portion 7a of torsion bar 7, it does not provide any bendingmoment at 70; 7d of the torsion bar.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are as follows:

I. A door hinge unit comprising a first leaf fixedly attached to saiddoor; a second leaf fixedly attached to said pillar; a hinge pinpivotably joining said leaves; a torsion bar having a straight main partand its each end shaped into a U-bend; a check arm having two separateopenings for receiving one end of said torsion bar and said main partthereof; at least one peaked portion formed on said check arm fordoor-checking service, the main part of said torsion bar being rotatablymounted on one of said leaves; the opposite bent-back end of saidtorsion bar being fixedly attached to said one of the leaves; and rollermeans rotatably mounted on the other of said leaves and kept in pressureengagement with a checking surface formed on said check

